Abortionist Kermit Barron Gosnell is pictured in an undated mug shot from the Philadelphia Police Department. Gosnell was sent to prison to serve three life terms without parole for murdering babies during late-term abortions and for other crimes at his squalid clinic. In a deal that spared him from the death penalty, Gosnell faced a judge in a two-day sentencing after waiving his right to appeal his conviction on three counts of first-degree murder. (CNS photo/handout Philadelphia Police Department)

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) — If New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushes to have “a right to an abortion” codified in state law, he will face “vociferous” and “rigorous” opposition from Catholic and other pro-lifers, said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York.

But the cardinal hopes it doesn’t come to that because Cuomo, he said, has told him “he wants to work hard on alternatives to abortion,” such as expanding adoption, having “greater latitude” in maternity leave and better assisting pregnant women in need and those with small children.

The cardinal made the comments in a May 14 telephone interview with radio host Fred Dicker, whose show is broadcast on Talk 1300 AM from the state Capitol in Albany. Dicker is a political analyst and is state editor for the New York Post daily newspaper.

“The governor and I have worked closely on other issues,” Cardinal Dolan said, listing immigration, gun control, a call to civic responsibility and the recovery of some money owed to Catholic schools in the form of reimbursements for state-mandated measures such as standardized testing.

“We’ve been with him and we’ve appreciated what he’s done. I want to believe he means it when he tells me he’s not going to expand what is already a terrible liberal abortion culture,” Cardinal Dolan said, but added that Cuomo has yet to release the details of the measure, called the Women’s Equality Act.

It is an “extreme oxymoron that abortion is seen as helping women’s health, especially if half the babies aborted” are female, the cardinal said. “So how does this help them?”

“We’re in his corner on most of them — nine out of 10,” Cardinal Dolan said. “But just this one about expansion of abortion that causes us pause. … Please, this is the last thing this state needs.”

New York decriminalized abortion in 1970, before the Roe v. Wade decision made abortion legal virtually on demand across the country.

“Unfortunately we’re known as ‘the abortion capital of the world,'” the cardinal told Dicker. “We have the highest rate in the country — in New York City 40 percent of babies are aborted; and among Latinos and African-Americans, it’s up to 60 percent.”

Cardinal Dolan said he hoped the gruesome details of how now-convicted Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell ran his abortion clinic and the late-term abortions he performed “will unmask some of the horror that is now obvious in this unfettered abortion-on-demand culture that’ we’ve got.”

He added, “My heart goes out in compassion to the women and babies … terribly affected and scarred by (Gosnell).”

Gosnell’s first-degree murder convictions in the deaths of three babies born alive during abortions “should make all of us pause. … Even so-called ‘pro-choice’ people never wanted it to come to this. Now we’re learning what went on in Philadelphia tragically is not an exception. … These (abortion clinics) are pretty clandestine operations that are not open to scrutiny.”

Dicker asked Cardinal Dolan whether Cuomo is in “good standing” as a Catholic, since the governor disagrees with the church “so fundamentally” on the issue of abortion.

“He and I have very grave differences and this is one of them,” the cardinal said. “But I do appreciate his company, always welcome his visits.” He said he “talks turkey” with Cuomo about the abortion issue, but noted “a lot of Catholics like to talk to me privately about their struggles with conscience.”

As a pastor, Cardinal Dolan said, he could not say anything more about Cuomo’s standing in the church.

The cardinal said he has a lot of respect for the current governor and for his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, but he also said that he believes that the elder Cuomo made “a tragic mistake” in his 1984 speech at the University of Notre Dame when he famously said there are times when a Catholic officeholder who is morally opposed to abortion can opt not to promote laws prohibiting abortion.

“I think that was a rupture in the whole united Catholic front against abortion,” he explained.

To say “‘I can’t impose my personal religious beliefs upon the rest of the country’ … is illogical,” Cardinal Dolan said. “We do that all the time.” Slavery would not have been outlawed, he said, if its opponents had not brought their opposition to it — based on “deep beliefs, conscience and religion” — to the public square.

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5 COMMENTS

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York is attempting to pass the most deadly abortion bill in American history. This bill would remove practically all restrictions on abortion, remove medical standards for abortion mills, and allow abortion for all nine months of a child’s life in the womb.

Governor Cuomo claims to be Catholic. Cardinal Dolan as a Bishop in the Catholic Church has the authority and responsibility to protect and defend what the Catholic Church teaches and believes.

So what is Cardinal Dolan’s response to Governor Cuomo’s attempt to promote and advance the murder of thousands upon thousands of children in New York state?

Archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling speaking on behalf of Cardinal Dolan said in reference to Gov. Cuomo’s standing as a Catholic in regard to the abortion question, “Cardinal Dolan would not, and did not, suggest the governor might not be a Catholic in good standing going forward.”

Cardinal Dolan said himself in a radio interview with Fred Dicker “I appreciate a lot of things about Governor Cuomo. He and I get along well. And I’m grateful that he keeps in touch.”

Out of all this a few things become clear. We know Cardinal Dolan does not like abortion, but in Cardinal Dolan’s Archdiocese a person can dedicate his life to and be responsible for murdering countless thousands of babies in the womb and still be a Catholic in “good standing” and get along well with the Cardinal.

The lesson we learn from this is in Cardinal Dolan’s world, the mass murder of babies can go hand in hand with being a Catholic in “good standing”.

This makes a mockery of the Catholic faith and ridicules every child murdered by abortion – it seems even Satan himself could be a Catholic in “good standing” in New York.

Cardinal Dolan is leading by example. He is a sheppard not afraid of the voices in the dark. May our Lord Jesus bless him and the Holy Spirit be his guide. I am praying for him that he have the courage and strenght to stand up to this culture of death.

well then, Reverend Dolan, according to your remarks, sharia law is just fine. “Impose religious beliefs”: we do it all the time. The real problem with the Catholic leadership on abortion is that they haven’t dealt correctly with EXACTLY that myopia Cuomo,Sr. fell into, that he has greater responsibility to the State than to his own conscience. Government should be at the will of the People. The Church needs to form the conscience of the People, NOT lobby legislators to impose Catholic religious beliefs. The SHEEP know the Master’s voice. Stop lobbying and start pastoring. We are still not hearing the right stuff from the pulpit. And we aren’t seeing enough priests out among the people, teaching them sound Catholic teaching on Life issues, because, well, the priests themselves weren’t formed properly and are unable and unfit to pastor properly. It’s a big mess.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York said, “If Cuomo pushes to have “a right to an abortion” codified in state law, he will face “vociferous” and “rigorous” opposition from Catholic and other pro-lifers.” I’m no legal guy but isn’t it already codified? “The cardinal hopes it doesn’t come to that.” It’s THAT! Isn’t it? Cuomo wants alternatives to abortion,” such as expanding adoption, having “greater latitude” in maternity leave and better assisting pregnant women in need and those with small children.” I agree but aren’t those differnt issues? Cardinal Dolan thinks they have worked closely on other issues, but Dolan doesn’t realize he’s like a mosquito trying to get blood from a mannequin. (Not my joke 🙂 Our cardinal goes on, “It is an “extreme oxymoron that abortion is seen as helping women’s health.” Yep. That’s it! There is NO *N*e*g*o*t*i*a*t*i*o*n! Period! The article said, “Besides abortion, Cuomo’s proposed 10-point Women’s Equality Act address pay equity; sexual harassment in the workplace; human trafficking; income, housing, family-status and pregnancy discrimination; stronger order-of-protection laws for victims of domestic violence; and recovery of attorney fees in employment and credit/lending cases.” My eyes really glazed when it started with “Recovery of attorney fees…” Cardinal Dolan is a theologian, Cuomo is a lawyer and I’m a second rate piano player and even ‘I’ can see what the lawyer is doing. Cardinal Dolan said, “I do appreciate his company,” “Always welcome his visits,” The Cardinal “has a lot of respect for the current governor,” and ,” “He talks turkey.” There is something ‘fowl’ about this whole thing.

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